Growth differentiation factor 15 in patients with congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA) type II.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anaemias (CDAs) are heterogeneous, hereditary disorders hallmarked by ineffective erythropoiesis and tissue iron overload. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) was suggested to mediate iron overload in iron-loading anaemias, such as the thalassaemias and CDAI by suppressing hepcidin, the key regulator of iron absorption. Here, we show that serum GDF15 concentrations are elevated in subjects with CDAI and CDAII.

Sensitivity and specificity of different staining methods to monitor apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in adherent cells.

Objective: To study the sensitivity and specificity of different staining methods to monitor apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in adherent cells.

Methods: Sensitivity and specificity of several common methods for apoptosis determination were evaluated (Apo2.7-expression, Annexin V-binding, TUNEL-reaction, poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase-(PARP) cleavage and single-stranded-DNA (ssDNA) staining).

Triplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotides targeting survivin inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of human lung carcinoma cells.

Survivin is expressed in most cancers but is undetectable in differentiated adult cells, and plays an important role both in the suppression of apoptosis and mitotic spindle checkpoint; thus it has attracted great interest as a potential drug target. In this study, we investigated the antigene and antiproliferative effects of triplex-forming oligodeoxynucleotides (TFO) targeting survivin in human lung carcinoma A549 cells. Survivin-specific TFOs form stable triplexes under physiological conditions as tested by electrophoretic mobility shift assays.